Austrian School Economics and the Croatian gold market explained by Sven Sambunjak

Subscribe to our newsletter at Sven Sambunjak, organiser of the 2nd Precious Metals Conference in Zagreb, Croatia, and the GoldMoney Foundation’s Alasdair Macleod talk about the Croatian gold market, the Croatian economy and Austrian School Economics. Due to taxes on precious metals that exceed 60%, the gold market in Croatia is virtually non-existent. Therefore people go to Slovenia, Italy or Hungary to buy gold and silver. Through his website Sambunjak offers a service for Croatian investors to buy and store precious metals abroad. He hopes that high gold taxes will be dropped as Croatia enters the European Union next year. In Croatia, Keynesian economics is the dominant school of economic thought in universities and the mainstream media. However alternate views are gaining in popularity -- particularly among young people with internet access. Sambunjak believes that most European countries have some way to go when it comes to a culture of gold and silver ownership. Sambunjak points out that while debt levels in Croatia are lower than in many other European countries, many Croatians are nonetheless heavily dependent on government spending. Croatia has high VAT and income taxes, high unemployment, and has been in a recession for over two years. However the black market is flourishing, while tourism in the country is increasing. This podcast was recorded on May 9 2012 at the 2nd Precious Metals Conference in Zagreb, Croatia.